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Old 04-03-2009, 09:34 AM
 
Location: I live south of San Antonio in a place called Atascosa.
854 posts, read 2,527,352 times
Reputation: 526

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Quote:
Originally Posted by BudB View Post
940's remark "Back when I was a kid my family would take us all out to Medina Lake and ... " really sparked some great old memories since we too spent many happy times at Medina Lake. I've not been there in nearly 30 years and guess that it's just as overdeveloped and crowded as everywhere else is these days but hopefully it still has some of its old character and beauty. I remember it in good years when we ran long trot lines across nice deep coves and other years when you could almost walk across the lake bed there was so little water. Happy times were those spent gazing at a gazillion stars in the blackest night-sky in my memory or drift fishing by moonlight not caring if we caught much or not as long as the cooler had a few Lone Stars in it. Medina lake was a bit of summertime magic for us out of school kids and a cool place to spend those wonderfully hot vacation days later on too. The Medina River between the lake and Bandera was also a mighty fine place to be once upon a time. Wish I could remember the name of that old fishing camp on the north end of the lake but it's been too long.
I spent a lot of time at Medina Lake too. Did you know that your "Uncle Doc" Cinto's brother Ben had a nice home on Medina Lake back in the late forties or early 50's? I have vague memories of going there when I was very young. It was a large house on top of a hill in the center of the lake. I don't know if it is still there but it was last time I looked--some years ago. My dad had an outboard motor that he would put in the trunk of our 56 Oldsmobile. We would go to a place called "Sea Cats" or something like that. We would rent an Aluminum Fishing boat for the day and use the Outboard Motor to cruise around the lake and fish. It was a simple,fun,cheap way to spend a Saturday or Sunday.
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Old 04-03-2009, 10:02 AM
 
Location: I live south of San Antonio in a place called Atascosa.
854 posts, read 2,527,352 times
Reputation: 526
[quote=mudpuddle;8165367].


Bud, we spent a lot of time at Medina Lake too.
Back in the 1950s, my grandfather took us to that fishing camp on a regular basis.
Was it called Pop's Place?? I've been trying to remember the name for years.
My GF is gone, grandma too, RIP, so I can't ask them.

Running the trotlines my GF always had a spare shear pin in the tackle box.

At the camp, age 8-10 or so, that's when I learned not to dive in at night
without first checking if anything is hiding just below the surface. Ouch.

Also saw my first Water Moccasin / Cotton Mouth there.
I came blasting out of the water dancing up a little hill
and there it was, mouth wide open. that was in the 50s.

Second Water mocsin I saw was about 15 years ago.
In the Medina River, at a camp,
but South of SATx, off 35S.
I was swimming, and the mocsin was sunning on a dead log.
Its head was about the size of my fist.
I backstroked so fast it's amazing there was any water left in the "river".
Later I found out you're not supposed to move quickly around the mocsins.
scru that.

When I was a Boy Scout, the Bicycling Merit Badge required a 50 mile ride.
My brother and I pedaled to Medina Lake and halfway back for the fifty.
Single speed cycle.... change speeds?? yeah.. stand up and pedal harder.
My dad thought he would catch us on the way up in his Ranchero.
We were part way back when he got there.
I don't think that route would be a safe one for an 10-11 year old nowadaze.

mud


.
I would see Rattle Snakes and Cottonmouths from time to time too. The thing is I never saw the one that bit me until I looked down to see what "stung me". It ain't like in the movies! I ended up spending the night in the Bexar County Emergency Room hooked up to all kinds of monitoring equipment. They will only give you anti-venom as a last resort--like when you go into CARDIAC ARREST!!! Luckily that didn't happen to me but the Bexar County Emergency room was a TRIP. It took about two hours after I got bit to feel the effects. I don't know if it takes that long for everybody but my foot swole up and turned black around the bite. It hurt like HELL! It took me a month to get my shoe back on.
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Old 04-03-2009, 11:50 AM
 
Location: Austin, Tx.
237 posts, read 847,178 times
Reputation: 158
"Guess that settles that controversy." Not sure what controversy Deep Forest refers to but stories of hugemungous catfish are common around many Texas dam sites. Completed in November 1912 Medina Lake's dam is the oldest in the state and there must be some real bigguns there so I hope the scuba dudes are watching out. And speakin' of cotton mouths, it was at that fish camp we can't recall the name of where I first heard tell of moccasins dropping from the low cypress branches into boats up close to the bank. Man, that still gives me the willies to think about even now.
As for peddling a bike around the old Lake or up the road from Rio Medina, not now nor never Mud ol' buddy so you earned that merit badge and then some. In fact, it if were me, I would still be wearing it and telling people why. As for shear pins, at about age 11 or 12 one summer I busted ours on a submerged rock in a cove at Medina while my uncle Bill checked his trot line about five one morning. It was pitch dark and cold, even in July at 5 am it's cold on the lake, but he got the spare put in while I kept the lantern on it. I guess that extra shear pins and needle nose pliers are still a must for any motor boat.
Dwangle, I did not know that Ben Krauss had a lake house on an island as you describe but wish I had seen it. Local legend also said there was a private club/casino on the big island that prospered in the 1920s and thirties until a fire destroyed it. Does anyone know if Red's Place is still open there near the dam?
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Old 04-03-2009, 12:37 PM
 
Location: I live south of San Antonio in a place called Atascosa.
854 posts, read 2,527,352 times
Reputation: 526
BudB..I am sorry you misunderstood where Bens lake house was. Medina Lake is long rather than wide. It is just a flooded river really. The lake house was somewhere between the dam and the beginning of the lake..kinda in the middle..you had to go across the dam or all the way around the lake to get to it. I don't think you can drive across the dam anymore. Even if it was still there I don't know if anybody could get to it without crossing into private property. I know the island you are talking about. I have seen the lake so low that it was not an island anymore. I heard that there was an indian village that became submerged when the lake filled up--has anyone else heard that?
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Old 04-03-2009, 03:34 PM
 
4,796 posts, read 15,297,228 times
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King Mud....I attempted to email you from your web site. Just making sure it went through. Spam is a PITA, right?
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Old 04-03-2009, 03:39 PM
 
4,796 posts, read 15,297,228 times
Reputation: 2735
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dwangle View Post
I heard that there was an indian village that became submerged when the lake filled up--has anyone else heard that?
What??? Where? I have to know everything there is about this? Where do we find this out. Was Medina a Corps of Engineers project? I know it was a huge irrigation program for local farmers.....but seriously....an Indiam village lost?

Which reminds me that the FAR NE corner of Bexar along the Cibolo Canyon has some dwellings and cave markings in that area. Is that true? I have friends that own property off that cliff on the Bexar side and they used to walk through there often. They are retired and not into digital photos or even the computer. I'm dying to get some pics or even make the walk myself. They said one does need a guide....and to watch for snakes etc....so I have to find a day that they feel up to it....or find a way to put on my boots and bring some adventurers along!
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Old 04-03-2009, 05:52 PM
 
Location: Austin, Tx.
237 posts, read 847,178 times
Reputation: 158
"... between the dam and the beginning of the lake.." confused me even more but I think you're saying the old Ben K house was on the western side of the lake across the dam; yes indeed, most Texas lakes are dammed up rivers. Medina Dam was a private venture wCat, as can be learned about in the old book, long out of print, titled "Ripples From Medina Lake" Naylor Press 1966. You'll love the story as it involves Englishmen, the Lusitania and a bunch of farmers in the lower Medina flood plain. Thousands of acres are still cultivated using the canals built as part of the dam project aka Medina Irrigation Company which is still headquartered in Natalia if memory serves. When the Medina Dam was completed it was the third largest dam in the U. S. Pick any dam/lake in the region and you'll find local folklore and legend of flooded Indian camps, farms, cemeteries, early towns, etc. The archaeology lab at UT did the work when Canyon Dam(Corps of Engineers) was built in 1964-'65 as it too covered lots of camps, ancient and otherwise, burial grounds, villages, homes, schools, etc. and reports were filed accordingly. You can even get a look at the artifacts if you know who to ask as tons of the stuff is stored at UTSA, UT Austin, etc. plus lots of fotos.
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Old 04-03-2009, 08:21 PM
 
Location: I live south of San Antonio in a place called Atascosa.
854 posts, read 2,527,352 times
Reputation: 526
ok BudB ..I started to Google Medina Lake looking to see if could find his house but I was totally lost. It was a landmark for my dad when he was on the lake and I remember it clearly..but time changes everything! There is a Benson road that I recognise. My dad worked with Stan Benson and we would go visit him. He had the fastest boat on the Lake. He smoked a cigar and used it to catch fish. I told me it really worked and I believed him. These are old memories from when I was a kid--I could be totally wrong about everything!
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Old 04-03-2009, 09:14 PM
 
Location: I live south of San Antonio in a place called Atascosa.
854 posts, read 2,527,352 times
Reputation: 526
[quote=wCat;8175205]What??? Where? I have to know everything there is about this? Where do we find this out. Was Medina a Corps of Engineers project? I know it was a huge irrigation program for local farmers.....but seriously....an Indiam village lost?

Which reminds me that the FAR NE corner of Bexar along the Cibolo Canyon has some dwellings and cave markings in that area. Is that true? I have friends that own property off that cliff on the Bexar side and they used to walk through there often. They are retired and not into digital photos or even the computer. I'm dying to get some pics or even make the walk myself. They said one does need a guide....and to watch for snakes etc....so I have to find a day that they feel up to it....or find a
way to put on my boots and bring some adventurers along!


Ok here I go again with questionable information but I think the guy you need to talk to is Don Shirley. I worked with him for awhile and he talked about doing this when he retired. Please don't tell him how you got this!
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Old 04-03-2009, 09:49 PM
 
4,796 posts, read 15,297,228 times
Reputation: 2735
[quote=Dwangle;8179598]
Quote:
Originally Posted by wCat View Post
What??? Where? I have to know everything there is about this? Where do we find this out. Was Medina a Corps of Engineers project? I know it was a huge irrigation program for local farmers.....but seriously....an Indiam village lost?

Which reminds me that the FAR NE corner of Bexar along the Cibolo Canyon has some dwellings and cave markings in that area. Is that true? I have friends that own property off that cliff on the Bexar side and they used to walk through there often. They are retired and not into digital photos or even the computer. I'm dying to get some pics or even make the walk myself. They said one does need a guide....and to watch for snakes etc....so I have to find a day that they feel up to it....or find a
way to put on my boots and bring some adventurers along!


Quote:
Ok here I go again with questionable information but I think the guy you need to talk to is Don Shirley. I worked with him for awhile and he talked about doing this when he retired. Please don't tell him how you got this!
LOL....ok! I promise I won't tell....if you promise to tell me how to find him.
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